


Public Relations

by Ladysarah



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-19
Updated: 2013-05-15
Packaged: 2017-11-19 01:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladysarah/pseuds/Ladysarah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At that moment Darcy Lewis wanted nothing more than to have the ground open up and swallow her. She had explained how she knew of S.H.I.E.L.D without actually saying anything (score for not breaking the gag order) but at the same time made it sound like she had a major run in with a covert government agency over a misunderstanding with an iPod.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ms. Lewis Goes to Washington

 Life after New Mexico hadn't held much excitement for Darcy Lewis. It had basically returned to the way things were before she took the internship that lead her to a small town in the desert. She returned to being a student, and she found another internship. Both of these things she did with the help of Agent Coulson who thought it would be best to buy her cooperation in signing a gag order with a free ride for the rest of her schooling (the whole one class that she had left) and a paid internship with the highest ranking congressman in D.C., that ended in a job offer after she graduated. Darcy, of course, had no problem with accepting either of these things. He did take her iPod after all.

She spent her days corralling the interns and employees, updating the Senator on everything that had made its way through the office while he was away, and talking to her pet fish, named Fish. She found an apartment in Congress Heights, near Bolling AFB, feeling that the noise of pilots in training flying over her apartment was fair compensation for the low rent.

The random appearance of Agent Coulson every couple of months provided the only break to her routine. Their conversations had helped her to mature and adapt to the new world she was in. He was overdue for another visit. She hadn't seen him since last spring. 

She sent Jane e-mails full of dull day to day happenings every couple of months. She rarely heard back. She now had a grown up wardrobe; like the kind you would see in swanky police procedurals on TV. Life had become...boring.

The most exciting thing to happen in the last year and a half had been the breaking news of the attack in New York about a year after she left New Mexico. Splashed all over the tv screens in the office were scenes of devastation. She had heard that Iron Man had teamed up with a man the news informed them was the Hulk who had caused some ruckus a couple of years before, two assassins who had yet to let the camera catch their faces, Thor (she felt a smile spread over her face at the thought that he had found a way back. Did Jane know yet?), and someone who looked like an updated version of Captain America. They had saved New York and then disbanded, leaving the city with grateful hearts and broken streets. Within a month, the chatter around the office had returned to normal, and life went back to its soft ebb and flow of nothing. 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

On any normal Sunday morning, Darcy would be huddled in her bed, shades drawn, spending her day in solitude. In the world of politicians, this was the only way for her to recharge her BS tolerance for the next week. The political world wasn't at all like watching The West Wing. But on this particular Sunday, instead of laying under the weight of at least four large comforters, she had just walked into the outer offices of Senator Lake. Thankfully no one, not even Senators, were expected to dress up on the weekends. Darcy pulled off her handmade scarf and hat, her outer coat, and switched her snow covered paisley galoshes for the other pair of boots she had brought with her in her bag. Winters in the District could be brutal on boots, especially with a commute like hers. Adjusting her large sweater around her shoulders, Darcy proceeded to turn on the computers in the office before turning to her morning to-do list. 

It was the day before an important vote was to be cast and she had been told the night before that she was expected to show up in case she was needed. She was the first one in the office and took advantage of the silence to start on her work. 

Several hours later Darcy sat at her desk in Senator Lake's office, looking glumly at the wall while trying to tune out the craziness of the interns around her. It wasn't that she didn't like what she was doing anymore; She loved being in a position to create change. But she had come to realize in the last several months that there was something missing from her life.

“But the bill clearly states that these funds would be used towards enforcement and not education. He's not going to sign the bill. His support was dependent upon the enforcement amendment which has now been ripped entirely from the bill.” Jeff, one of the more unruly interns who had started over the summer, stepped out of the conference room with Alice.

“Don't be such a cynic Jeff. When people are properly educated they can make the right choices.” Both interns stopped in front of Darcy's desk before continuing their disagreement. It didn't take long for their voices to raise and the shouting to begin and for Darcy to have enough.

“Stop! Both of you, just stop.” Darcy stood behind her desk trying her best to look intimidating. “Jeff, the Senator is going to sign the bill because it is a puff piece bill with a puff piece name. It's an election year and if he doesn't sign it he will look like the guy who wants to kill puppies and the American spirit. Alice, it's nice that you have faith in humanity, but people really are that stupid. They can have the law stapled to their forehead and they will still break it. Now, aren't you supposed to be out buying lunch for Senator Conrad's committee?” The two interns gave her blank looks.

“Well, get going. Angry officials screw up the world.” The interns grumbled as they picked up a stack menus and bickered their way out of the office. Darcy returned to her seat, head in her hands, elbows on the desk, and let out a sigh. _Okay Darcy, time to get back to work_. 

Darcy was reaching to the far end of her desk to retrieve her iPod when a shifting figure in the doorway caught her attention. “Can I help you?”

The man that stood in front of her could only be described as an Army Ken Doll. He was wearing the Khaki uniform that she had seen many times with the various officers that passed through the office, but wore a leather bomber jacket over his khakis. He was muscle and chiseled jaw with blond hair a little longer on top than she saw on Army personnel. 

“I'm looking for Senator Lake's office,” the Ken Doll spoke in a flat tone.

Darcy looked at him for a moment before snapping out of her haze and beckoning him into the office and out of the doorway.

“Yeah. Yep. Did you need to set up an appointment?” Darcy looked up at the man and did her best to slip into professional mode. She brought up the Senators calendar on the computer, pushing keys and clicking on things to make it look like it took more work to bring up the Senator's schedule than it actually did.

“I already have an appointment.” The Ken doll had moved to stand in front of her desk. Though, upon closer inspection of his stance, she was starting to think he would be better suited as a G.I. Joe. 

“Under what name?” Darcy looked up at him expectantly. His stance shifted briefly, almost so slight that she didn't catch it. 

“Captain Steve Rogers, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division ma'am.”

“You work for S.H.I.E.L.D.?” The question was out of Darcy's mouth before she could catch it. She hadn't even realized that she remembered what the acronym stood for until he was listing off the covert branch. But just like riding a bike or using the tazer on Thor, it just came to her. Captain Rogers gave her a questioning look.

“Sorry, I...uh. Never mind.” Darcy adjusted her glasses and looked at the computer before pushing up the sleeve of her sweater and checking the time on her old watch. “You do have an appointment on record Captain Rogers. Unfortunately the Senator is running about a half hour behind schedule today. You are free to take a seat and wait until he returns from The Hill, or you can reschedule your appointment.” She plastered on her brightest smile. The Captain looked around the office, found a chair and promptly sat down. 

Darcy, who had learned two weeks in that running the office of a Senator required many of the same practices that she had put into place when working for Jane, had created a system that required her to do as little as needed to get work done in the early morning. She had just finished the things that she needed to do for the day when she took to staring at the wall only to be interrupted by the arguing interns. Now she had nothing to do. While this wasn't usually something that caused her any anxiety, this time Captain Rogers was in the office as well. It was unsettling to have someone else in the office and not talk to them. She wasn't ignoring him, but there was nothing to say. Darcy looked at her desk, hoping that there was something that she had missed. She was to the point of settling on making a paper clip necklace when the Captain spoke.

“How do you know about S.H.I.E.L.D?” When she looked up he was staring directly at her. The strength of his gaze was unsettling.

“I uh....I was the only one that applied.” Confusion crossed his features and Darcy realized what she had just said. “I mean, there was an internship open to work with Jane Foster, an Astrophysicist. I needed an internship and I was the only one that applied. We had a run in with S.H.I.E.L.D. But, I got my iPod back, and now everything is okay.” At that moment Darcy Lewis wanted nothing more than to have the ground open up and swallow her. She had explained how she knew of S.H.I.E.L.D without actually saying anything (score for not breaking the gag order) but at the same time made it sound like she had a major run in with a covert government agency over a misunderstanding with an iPod. 

Captain Rogers calmly nodded his head and went about inspecting the room. They sat in silence, neither one of them making any sound, for the next twenty-five minutes. Well, twenty-three and eighteen seconds. Darcy had been counting. 

Senator Lake strode into the office with a jovial look on his face, the end of a loud laugh trailing in with him.

“Darcy. I don't know how you knew, but McClintock shifted. McClintock is going to give his nay vote and he's bringing several others with him. S.5613 won't make it out of the room and that will give us some leverage for tomorrows vote. How did you know?”

Darcy smiled. “I had a hunch.” She didn't need to tell him that she stayed up last night reading everything she could about his voting history and anything that had to do with his district. 

“Well, thank you Miss Lewis. Now, what else do we have on the agenda today?” The Senator clapped his hands, rubbing them together in glee. “I feel like I could take on the world.” 

Darcy looked behind Senator Lake to where Captain Rogers stood from his chair, straight laced as ever. “Captain Rogers is here for your appointment.” Senator Lake looked behind him then sighed.

“Well, the other ball had to drop sometime. Come on Captain Rogers and lets get this meeting over with.” Both men walked into Lake's personal office and Darcy felt her muscles relax. She hadn't realized that she had been so tense while she battled the awkward silence that had cloaked the room as the Captain waited for lake. 

Barely a minute had gone by before raised voices floated through the slightly open door and to where Darcy sat connecting paper clips. 

“So Fury sent you here to bully me, is that it? All because of what almost happened last spring? The team was new and we had reports of discontent in the ranks. What were we supposed to do, send a basket of bunnies to get the job done?” Senator Lake's voice held an air of disbelief.

“No sir, you were supposed to let the team do their job. You were not open to hearing all the facts of what transpired after Agent Coulson's death and the effect that it had on the team.” Darcy dropped the paper clips she had been holding. _Coulson's dead? No. He means a different Coulson._ Darcy raised herself from her chair and eased herself closer to the door as Captain Rogers' stern voice continued. “You decided to take the fate of New York City into your own hands, unchecked. You put the lives of millions in danger. We cannot allow you to wield that power over the Avengers again.” 

Through the door Darcy could see the Senator slowly take his seat with a sense of defeat, elbows resting on his desk and hands supporting his downcast head. “So what do you propose I do, Captain Rogers? Let them do whatever they please? What happens if there is trouble again and they can't work with each other? I cannot in good conscience risk that happening again.”

Captain Rogers sank into one of the chairs. “Relations among the avengers are still solidifying. We can't promise that things won't get out of hand again. Captain America has been tasked with bringing the team closer together in case of future attacks. What we propose is that we appoint someone who can act as a mediator between the Avengers and government agencies. We need someone who is familiar with politics and can act quickly when relations between our two sides deteriorate. We also are looking for someone who can work on the public relations aspect of the Avengers team. Seems that the press has been breaching security protocols for information. When they can't get any that way, they make up stories.” Senator Lake looked up from the desk.

“Who do you have in mind?”

Darcy could see Captain Rogers' shoulders relax as he leaned forward in his chair. She moved closer to the door making sure she didn't miss a thing. 

“I've read up on you, Senator. Your voting history, bills you have helped to draft, the way you campaign; everything down to how well you got along with your parents. You want the Avengers to work out. You also are a good judge of character, even if at times you don't display enough of it yourself. I was hoping you could bring us a candidate to consider.” Captain Rogers let out the sigh of a man who was emotionally exhausted. “Director Fury wants to pull one of his agents from foreign duty to fill the position. I have read this guys file and he would follow Fury into the depths of hell. I want you to find us someone who can be rational. With no allegiances to either side. But we need a name from you by tomorrow.” Senator Lake leaned back in his chair and looked out his window at the snowy November afternoon. After several minutes of silence he turned back to look at Captain Rogers and nodded his head.

“Make an appointment with Darcy for tomorrow. It's going to be a busy day, but I should be able to fit you in to give you an answer.” Both men rose from their chairs and Darcy scurried back to her post before either of them new she had been listening in. 

Captain Rogers exited the Senators office and looked around before settling his eyes on her and walking over.

“Are you Darcy?” She nodded as she brought up the Senators schedule again. They set the appointment for the next evening and the soldier turned to leave before she stood from her seat.

“Captain Rogers?” Her voice was so small she almost didn't sound like herself. He stopped and turned to her, eyes searching hers out, ready to listen to what she was going to say.

“Is it true? I-I mean, I couldn't help but over hear. Is Agent Coulson dead? Agent _Phil_ Coulson?” Captain Rogers eyes softened. There was her answer, but until she heard the words confirming what he had said earlier, she wouldn't believe it. There could be several Agent Coulson's working for S.H.I.E.L.D, 

“Yes ma'am. He is.” Darcy could feel the prickling start behind her eyes so she clenched them shut in an effort to stop any tears from flowing. 

“When?..How?” She opened her eyes to look at the Captain again.

“Just before New York, ma'am. He died in service to our country and our planet.”

“Thank you for telling me Captain Rogers.” Darcy's voice wavered and her control slipped for only a moment, but it was enough for a solitary tear to slip out and cascade down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away before plastering a smile on her face and aiming it at the Captain. “Have a good evening Captain Rogers.”

The Captain hesitated for a moment, looking like there was something that he wanted to ask her, before he gave a nod of his head and walked out of the office. Before Darcy could let the news of Coulson sink in and cause a fresh wave of tears, the office filled with interns returning from their various tasks, leaving her with no other option than to get back to work.

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

The commute home allowed Darcy some time to unwind from the day, but the walk from her last bus stop home left her with nothing to occupy herself with and plenty to think about.

Darcy slowly made her way up the walk towards the old 1940's looking apartment building, up the flight of stairs and unlocked her door. 

She dropped her keys on the small table she had found for her hallway, hung up her coat, and started stripping off her clothes as she walked towards her bedroom. Soon she was changed into her flannel pants and thermal shirt, sitting in front of her computer. It had been at least a month since she last e-mailed Jane. Did she know about Coulson? 

Darcy opened her e-mail and started writing to the long lost astrophysicist.

 

_Jane,_

_It's been a while since I last wrote to you. Not much going on here. Bills being created, being passed, being repealed. People trying to save the world anyway they can. Fish is still alive. I found a small toy telescope to put in his fish tank. I also found a snowman and I may need to switch that out with the telescope soon. I think it is colder this year than it was last year. People around the office are thinking that we are going to have a really bad winter._

_I finally received my diploma in the mail. You know, the pretty one that doesn't really mean anything? Bought a nice frame for it and hung it up in my measly living room. Starting to feel like a real adult now. My own place, a respectable job that won't let me wear jeans everyday, an education. Things have really changed since New Mexico._

_Something really strange happened today. A Captain came in to see Senator Lake today. That isn't the weird part. We get military in all the time. The weird thing is that he said he was from S.H.I.E.L.D. I overheard part of his conversation with Senator Lake and he said that Agent Coulson was dead. When Captain Rogers came back out, I asked him if it was true. He said that Coulson died just before New York was attacked last spring. Did you know? If you didn't, I know that he wasn't that nice when he confiscated all of your home made equipment, but I am sorry you had to find out through me. The truth is that we kinda became friends when he kept visiting me every couple of months since he got me the internship with Senator Lake. He would show up out of the blue and take me to whatever mealtime it happened to be. He listened and sometimes gave advice. He told me once that he had an almost complete set of Captain America Trading Cards. The next time I saw him, I gave him the one that he was missing. I found it on some obscure site in Bangladesh. That was the last time I saw him._

_I hope that you are alright Jane. I hope that your research is doing well. I haven't heard anything on the news about Thor. Is he still here? Were you able to see him after New York?_

_I wish you were here._

_Darcy_

 

Sending the letter to Jane, Darcy fed Fish, turned out all her lights, and fell into bed. Only then did she let herself cry over the fallen agent.

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

The next day started off busy. The office was as crazy as a jar full of fruit flies and Darcy let herself get swept up in the chaos that had taken over. When the vote started that afternoon everyone in the office who wasn't at The Hill gathered around one of the TV's that was tuned into C-SPAN. Forty minutes later their bill missed being passed through the Senate by a dozen votes and the whole room erupted with applause. 

After that the day started to wind down, with interns leaving in sporadic waves. They were all bright eyed an bushy tailed over what they had helped to accomplished and they wanted to celebrate. By the time eight rolled around she was the only one left in the office. The phones weren't ringing and all of her paperwork had been finished earlier. Darcy took the opportunity to collect law books from around the office. She wasn't normally such a neat person but she had to stay until Captain Rogers showed for his appointment and she needed something to occupy her mind so that she wouldn't start thinking about Phil again. 

After Darcy had put a majority of the books away, she turned to the files that littered some of the tables. She grabbed a large stack and moved to the filing cabinet and started putting them away. Darcy had been bent over at the waist, tight black pencil skirt covered butt up in the air, putting one last file away when a loud cough broke through the silence. Darcy jumped, placing a hand over her silk blouse covered chest, and whirled around to see Captain Rogers standing in the doorway just like he had the day before. 

“This is the second time in a row that you have sneaked up on me Captain Rogers. Do they teach you that at boot camp?” Darcy picked up the last of the files that she hadn't put away and walked behind her desk to drop them off. The Captain laughed lightly and Darcy found the she liked the sound much more than the awkward silence of the day before. 

“Sorry ma'am.” The smile on his face didn't last long as he sidled up to the side of her desk. “Is the Senator available?”

“Yes he is. Give me one minute.” Darcy quickly kicked off her heels and walked stocking clad to her overly large bag in the corner. She quickly pulled out and put on her galoshes and tucked her heels into the vacant spot in the bag before turning around to find the Captain trying to hide the amused look on his face.

“You try taking two buses and walking another four blocks in heals during the winter. These boots are a god send.” She pulled on her large down coat before knocking on the Senators office door. She heard his muffled response and opened the door wide.

“Senator, Captain Rogers is here. It's your last meeting of the day and all of the interns have already left so I was going to head home early.” Senator Lake stood quickly.

“Actually Darcy, could you join the Captain and me for a moment?” Darcy turned around to look at Captain Rogers in confusion. He shrugged his shoulders before making his way past her and into the office. Darcy followed.

“Captain Rogers, I have given your request a lot of thought and I have made up my mind. I believe that the person the Avengers are looking for is Darcy Lewis.” Senator Lake motioned towards Darcy. There were several moments of silence as she tried to wrap her head around what the Senator had just proposed. Apparently Captain Rogers was have having an equally hard time.

“You want to give this position to your secretary?”

 


	2. Big City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the false hopes yesterday. That was an ID-10T error on my part because I don't know how to work this stupid (but really wonderful) site. It's for real this time.  
> Also, a huge Thank You to my beta, Maneesha, for making this chapter so wonderful I won't be reading it over and over wondering what I could have done differently.

The first week that Darcy Lewis started working for Senator Lake, she had come to know every security guard working in the building. Now, some might say that she won them over with her charm, or sparkling personality, but they would be wrong. It wasn't that Darcy didn't have those qualities, it was just that people tended to not notice them so much when they are trying to convince her that they would have her arrested should she choose to try and get her taser past them and into a building full of elected officials.

“You do know that D.C has one of the highest crime rates in the nation, don't you?” The security guards caved and allowed her to bring the taser to work so long as she handed it over to them for safe keeping while she was in the building. It was due to the actions of these fine employees of the United States Government that Captain Steve Rogers hadn't fallen to the floor in pain after his comment on Darcy's position.

It did, however, take several minutes before Senator Lake could get her to stop swearing.

In all honesty, Darcy didn't know why she had been so upset by the Captains comments. She had been called a secretary many times before and had never lost her cool. She had always let it pass or politely corrected the offender of her position. After all, she was an adult now and couldn't use swear words or tasers to get her point across.

It was a week later and Darcy was currently sitting in the sleek black town car that had picked her up that morning, and holding Fish in his bowl, trying to keep him as steady as she could as they drove over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Darcy wasn't going to lie; She still had a little trouble believing that she no longer worked for Senator Lake and was now working as the liaison between the Avengers, the Government, and a slew of gossip magazines.

It had taken some convincing, Darcy was sure, but Director Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. had okay'd her hire and insisted that she start right away. Two days later she was packing up her desk, all of her personal possessions, and getting Fish travel ready.

The town car pulled up to the front of a large and sleek building. Before Darcy had the chance to open her door, she found it opened for her by her driver.

“Miss Lewis.” He nodded to her as she exited the car. She tightened her grip on Fish's bowl, making sure to keep the water from sloshing.

“Miss Potts is waiting inside to show you around your new office as well as to orient you to your new position. Please follow me.” The driver turned on his heel and started walking to the door. It was a little hard for Darcy to keep up with him on his march to the entrance of the building as his legs were longer than hers and she was dressed in her office attire complete with stiletto heels that she had mistakenly thought would be a good idea. He held the door open for her and she entered the warm lobby quickly.

Darcy had seen pictures of Pepper Potts in almost every magazine from Time to Us Weekly, so it wasn't at all hard to locate the willowy red head dressed to kill. As Darcy drew closer she could see the clear exasperation on the beautiful woman's face. Judging from her side of the phone conversation she was having, she was probably talking to a five year old.

“No, what did I say...Yes, you can have one after you-...Yes...Okay. Happy isn't going to let you stay out too long because you have that dinner...Yes, you have to go...Because the CEO of Nulcor will be there. You are buying his company and this is a sign of goodwill...I don't care if you think the man is a doofus.” Pepper looked up once they were only a few feet away and smiled, holding up a hand to show that she would only be a minute. Darcy used that time to look at the lobby she was in. Holy crap on a cracker, she thought at she took in the marble walls and gold fixtures, You have a legit 'mom would be so happy' grown up job. They probably even offer a retirement plan that would make Occupy live on my front step.

“I am so sorry, Miss Lewis.” Pepper tucked her phone into her bag. “Shall we head up to your new office?” Darcy followed Pepper to the elevators, stealing extra glances of the ceiling as they walked.

“Welcome to the Stark Industries New York building. Have you ever been here before?” Pepper was all congenial smiles as she pushed a button and the elevator doors closed, leaving the two women to themselves.

“Never been to New York, Miss Potts.” Pepper let out a hum.

“Mr. Stark decided that it would be best to place your offices here at Stark Industries seeing as they were already qualified to offer extra protection against unexpected events. We also wanted to keep you close enough to Stark Tower that you can be called upon when needed, but keep a distance so you will be able to do your job without contact with the Avengers Team,” The elevator dinged. “And here we are. Floor twenty two.” Darcy followed Pepper out into the hallway and up to a door with a gold plaque that simply read Darcy Lewis, Avengers Public Relations.

“What do you mean, keep me out of contact with the Avengers? Isn't that kinda why I am here?” Darcy hugged Fish closer to her chest.

“Lets talk about this inside.” Pepper pulled out an electronic key and unlocked the door.

Whatever Darcy had been imagining as her future office, this certainly wasn't it. This was far beyond what she could have anticipated. The door opened up to a large reception area with full windows, tasteful decorations, and a waiting area complete with old magazines. Off to the right were several small offices filled with cheap desks and spilling over with cords and phones and computers. In one room towards the back Darcy could make out a fax machine and several copiers. A small hallway lead off around a corner.

To the left was just one door, wide open, showing an office. Darcy moved towards it like she was in a trance. The external walls were nothing but window, giving her a wonderful view of the street from which she had arrived, and the beautiful buildings that lined it.

While the room was tastefully decorated like the waiting area, it still allowed for Darcy to bring in her own style and make the room her own. Darcy walked around the desk situated in the far corner of the room before slowly placing Fish's bowl down and sitting in the white leather chair that sat behind it. Even though she had been in a car for the last five hours, Darcy didn't think she ever wanted to get up again, the chair was that soft. She noticed Pepper seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

“This seems like a pretty big office just for me.” Darcy ran her hands over the desk's smooth surface, trying to keep herself from grinning like an idiot.

“We gave you all the space that you will require. We have set up a budget for your office that will allow you to hire a personal assistant as well as some people to help you cover the media coverage that the Avengers team is attracting. Trust me, you will need the help. We have already gathered the resumes of some potential hires. They will be coming in on Monday to start the interview process.” Pepper took a seat as she pulled a large file from her bag. “Here is some information that we thought you might need to get started. This includes everything from a list of area's that are under your purview, things that the press are not allowed to know under any circumstances and what to do when they ask, as well as the names and numbers of important individuals you will need as you work.”

Darcy pulled open the file and started flipping through the papers. “Anna Wintour is in here? What would Vogue want with the Avengers?”

“Everyone wants a part of the Avengers right now, Miss Lewis. That is a large part of the reason you where hired.”

“Speaking of why I was hired. Why do I need to be kept away from the Avengers? Aren't I supposed to be working with them?” Pepper shifted in her seat.

“While there are certain Avengers who the world are very aware off, like Mr. Stark, there are others on the team who have requested that their everyday lives not be associated with their work personas. There are very few people who work with the Avengers who know their real identities. We tend to respect that and therefore cannot have you walking in whenever you choose as that may compromise them. They may choose to let you know who they are, but if you try to pry the answer out of them, I can guarantee that it will only make your job harder.”

Darcy took a moment to look through her contacts list again before asking, “could I get the contact information for Dr. Jane Foster, please? I have been trying to contact her for a while and I would just like to tell her that I am in town, if she doesn't know already.” Pepper smiled and handed her another piece of paper with several phone numbers on it.

“She is working at the Tower, but she also has an office two floors down. If she isn't there, her assistant should be.”

Darcy fingered the paper. She really shouldn't be surprised. Jane wouldn't be able to do her work as well, let alone survive, if she didn't have an assistant. And it was Darcy who left.

 

Pepper stayed another hour to answer any questions that Darcy had. By the time that the polished woman was standing and pulling together her belongings while her phone rang in the background, several men had shown up with dolly's laden down with office boxes filled with files that needed signing for. Darcy was signing one of the papers and seeing Pepper out the door when the woman stopped and pulled out a business card.

“I know that when I first started working for Tony, I could have used a little help every now and again. Please call me if you ever have a question or just need some advice.”

“Thank you.” Darcy took the card with care.

“It was a pleasure, Miss Lewis.” Darcy was still staring at the card, using her body to prop the door open and let even more boxes through, when she heard the ding of the elevator followed by Pepper's voice.

“Steve, when did you get back? Did you enjoy your time in D.C?” Darcy looked up so fast her neck creaked in protest. But there it was, right in front of her. Captain Steve Rogers was standing in front of the elevator, talking and smiling and talking to Pepper. A minute later and the two were saying their goodbyes, but Darcy was still staring. Why should she be so surprised? They were working for the same people now, they were bound to see each other.

Captain Rogers smiled as he made his way to the office door across the hall from hers, but looked her way when a couple of the movers asked her for more signatures. The smile fell from his face and they stood there, just looking at each other for several moments.

There were no words lost between the two. After all, what were they going to say to each other? Sorry that I stereotyped you into an antiquated title and therefore belittled your worth? Sorry that I used my vast arsenal of curse words to take you down a notch, but you should be thankful a thousand volts of electricity weren't flowing through your body instead?

“Miss Lewis, your signature?” One of the movers thrust more papers into her hands and Darcy finally broke eye contact with Captain Rogers.

“Yeah. Sorry.” She quickly scribbled her name onto the papers and handed them back, squeezing herself against the wide door frame to let out the movers. After they had all passed by she chanced a look at Captain Rogers. He was still standing there, watching her.

“Captain.” She nodded at him before turning back into her offices and closing the door behind her, nearly missing the “Miss Lewis” that he said in return.

It was near eight that night when Darcy finally decided that trying to get through all of the boxes of files before she even had the chance to see her new home was letting her workaholic side show. Using the number that had been left for her for the Stark driving service, she arranged to be taken home. She gathered all of the files that she felt would be safe to take home (mostly the file that Pepper had left her), and Fish, before exiting the office, locking up, and catching the elevator down to the lobby. And though she had a lot going through her mind, what with all the top secret (not really) reading that she had been doing, she still managed to notice the light that seeped under the door of Captain Rogers office.

 

Even though Darcy Lewis detested working alone, the next several days passed quickly. She had over twenty boxes full of new information, including two sets of files on each of the avengers. One set for her perusal, one set for what was allowed to be released to the public, signed off by the each Avenger. She read each one. Twice.

Her days got to be fairly routine, though she knew that her routine would only change the next week when she started hiring her minions. She woke in the morning and checked on Fish and how he was handling his new tank, dressed, hit a quaint coffee shop that she had looked up online (the small places always had the best brew) for a bear claw and a drink, then went into work to spend the day reading, answering her own phone, and generally getting her bearings.

She had just put down the file on Hawkeye when there was a knock on the main office door, which she had been keeping closed as it was only her there and her office was filled with sensitive information. Darcy grumbled lightly, having to put her shoes back on to answer the door. She really should rethink this whole stiletto dress choice. She opened the door. Captain Rogers looked up from a file that he was holding.

“Captain. What can I do for you today.” She tried to keep her voice as neutral as she could.

“I have something to talk to you about.” He lifted up the file. “Official business.”

“Right this way, Captain.” Darcy started leading the way to her office.

“You can call me Steve, if you would like, Miss Lewis. I know that it can get tiring for a civilian to keep calling someone by their rank.” Darcy offered him the seat on the other side of her desk before sitting down in her seat.

“Thank you, Captain.” Darcy really couldn't help herself. It would have been so easy to just call him Steve, he did seem to be trying to mend fences and heavens knew that it was a little odd when referring to him as Captain Rogers, even in her thoughts (not that she thought of him often), but her pride insisted that they not get friendly. “What did you need to speak to me about?”

Captain Rogers cleared his throat before handing over a file. “Captain America has requested the use of an abandoned U.S. Military base in Michigan for team building and training exercises. And since you are the Avengers liaison with the Government-”

“-I get to check with them about future plans for the base and can you guys please blow up stuff on it.”

“Basically, yeah.”

Darcy looked down at her watch to check the time and sighed. “How soon do you need confirmation?”

“As close to after the new year as you can give us. I think he is planning on some exercises in the snow to make sure they can handle it.” After having read the Captains (severely edited) file, Darcy smiled widely at the thought of Captain America purposefully going somewhere snowy. Confusion crossed Captain Rogers' face.

“Is there something particularly amusing about this, Miss Lewis?” The thoughts running through her head mixed with the look on her face caused her to laugh lightly.

“I think it's just a little funny that Captain America actually wants to go somewhere cold.” The Captain frowned as he stood from his seat.

“I see you have been given clearance to read his file. I am sure that he would appreciate your making fun of his situation.” Captain Rogers turned to leave and while Darcy wasn't ready to make nice with the man, she didn't want to make him mad or offend him either. She rounded her desk and reached for his arm to stop him.

“Captain Rogers please, stop. I didn't mean to make fun.” Captain Rogers halted his exit and turned around to look at her. “Really I didn't. I just, I have been reading everyones files this week and it came to my mind how ironic it all is. He's my favorite, actually.” Her voice got quieter as she said the last part. She didn't know how it happened, but one moment she was offending the Captain and the next something personal was spilling out of her mouth. Silence enveloped the office for several moments before Captain Rogers spoke.

“Why?”

Now Darcy was the one confused. “Why, what?”

“Why is Captain America your favorite?”

“You mean aside from the fact that he was the only Avenger around when I was little?” Darcy smiled and walked back to her desk. Captain Rogers returned to his seat. “I didn't really have the most picturesque childhood, and he stood for everything that I wanted in life. The American Dream. He's why I went into Political Science.” Darcy shrugged off the shocked look the Captain sent her way.

“And now that I have read his file, I am even more confident that he is my favorite. I know a little something about being the underdog.” She let off a small smile before sitting up straight in her chair and quickly checking her watch again. “Now, why don't we see about that Military Base? Senator Stoudemire usually works late on Thursday's so Wendy should still be in the office.”

Darcy punched in the number that she knew by heart, turned the speaker phone on, and waited for the office manager, Wendy, to pick up.

“Senator Stoudemire's office.” The voice on the other side of the phone had an unmistakable midwestern accent.

“Hey Wendy. It's Darcy.”

“Darcy? Where are ya. I came into work the other day and I had to tell ya about Joanie's boy that she brought home for me to meet, not a very bright boy I can tell ya that, and there was someone else at y'ur desk sayin' that ya weren't workin' there anymore. Senator Lake didn't fire ya did he, because I have been workin' in the Minnesota office for thirteen years and ya ran his office better than I run mine.” Darcy tried to tamper the blush that started to wash over her cheeks. Wendy always was one of her best friends at the Senate office building.

“No, he didn't fire me, Wendy. He got me in touch with new job that he thought would let me do more good than I was doing in his office. I'm in New York.”

“Oh, big city girl now, aren't 'cha. Are ya making sure to keep y'ur taser on ya or are the security guards at y'ur new job takin' that away from ya as well.”

“Actually it's illegal to carry a taser in New York. But don't worry, they have provided a driver and they set me up in a nice part of town.” A sigh came through the phone.

“Just stay safe darlin', and remember that if ya need shootin' lessons then Gary will be more than willin' to teach you if you come back to D.C. for a visit. Now, enough of this gossipin'. Whatcha need darlin'?” Wendy never was one for beating around the bush.

“Do you know what Senator Stoudemire is planning on doing with that old Military Base in north Michigan? I thought I remember you saying that the committee was thinking about demolishing all the buildings because of the mold and then rebuilding it to make a boot camp.” Captain Rogers shifted forward in his seat, intently listening to the conversation.

“Oh, yea, sure he was. The plans have stalled because they don't want to spend the money to demolish the buildin's. Why,” Wendy lowered her voice as if she was in on a secret, “ya got a plan for it?”

“Actually I do. Could you have the Senator give me a phone call tomorrow to talk about it?”

“Sure thing, Darlin'. Just let me put ya into his schedule and get y'ur contact information.” Darcy picked up her receiver, taking the phone off speaker, and finished setting up the meeting, making sure to placate Wendy's worries about her safety before they said goodbye.

“Now, Captain Rogers,” Darcy turned to look at the man across the desk from her and was shocked to find his stare already on her, “while I can tell you based off of the information that we were given over the phone, that Senator Stoudemire will jump at the chance to have the Avengers team do whatever they want to that base. But this is the United States Government. They are going to try and play it cool while asking for some sort of compensation for the damages that the team is going to create. Negotiations are going to take a little time but I know the way he works and will try and have that all cleared for you by the first of the year.” She gave him a grin.

“Thank you, Miss Lewis.” He rose from his seat and started towards the door again before stopping and walking back to her. “I would like to apologize for my comment about you, back when Senator Lake offered you the job. It demeaned your position. I can see that you are more than capable to take over the job as our liaison.”

Darcy could see the sincerity on his face as he talked and gave a sigh. It's not that she wanted to go on holding a grudge against the man, but she was kinda hoping he wouldn't look so contrite when he apologized. Now any anger that she held on to would look like she was holding a grudge against a kitten.

“Apology accepted, Captain Rogers. And I am sorry for swearing at you so prolifically.” The Captain smiled and the emotion took over his face, almost transforming his features. She couldn't deny that she liked the look on him.

“It's been a while since I have heard anyone swear that much, and I was in the Army.” The comment got Darcy's mind swimming with questions, but before she could ask one, someone knocked on the door to her office. The Captain, who was standing closest to the door, walked to it and opened it, and Darcy was surprised by what was on the other side.

“Jane?”


	3. Fashion Advice

Within seconds Darcy had managed to cover the distance from behind her desk to her office door and completely wrap herself around the astrophysicist.

“Darcy. How are you?” Jane asked, wrapping her arms around her in return. Darcy mumbled something indecipherable into Jane's hair. “What was that?”

Darcy pulled herself away from Jane, a smile covering her face.

“How did you know I was here?” Darcy couldn't help herself, she went in for another hug.

“Pepper. She said that you were busy setting up your new office and that I shouldn't wait for you to find an opening in your schedule to see me. So here I am.” Jane cinched her arms closer around her and Darcy could feel the astrophysicist relax. “I didn't know if you really wanted to see me. I didn't do a very good job of keeping in touch with you.” Darcy, instead of trying to placate Jane with words, continued to hug her tightly.

That was, until a deep cough came from behind her, catching Darcy's attention.

“Tho-uh, Donald. You're here.” Darcy pulled out from the hug to look up at the muscled Asgardian, just barely remembering to call him by his new name. She didn't want to take the chance of Captain Rogers finding out who he was. That was just what she needed. To lose her job and let the world know Thor's secret identity in one fell swoop.

“A ponytail? Really? Jane, why are you letting him do this? Now he looks like a snobby poet from Germany.” The conversation continued on Thor's hair and smart looking glasses before Darcy remembered her manners.

“Uh, Jane, Donald. This is Captain Steve Rogers. He works right across the hallway.” She gestured at Rogers like he was the latest vowel on the board, before turning to him and doing the same to Jane and Thor. “Captain, this is Doctors Jane Foster and Donald Blake. Jane is the scientist I had my internship with, when I met Coulson.”

“We've already met. It's great to see you again Donald, Dr. Foster.” Captain Rogers leaned forward to shake hands with Thor just as his front pocket started ringing. He looked startled for a moment before reaching to grab his phone.

“I'm sorry, but I have a previous engagement. Thank you, Miss Lewis, for helping with the base.” He dipped his head slightly and said his goodbyes, slipping out of Darcy's office. Thor made an excuse of needing to ask Captain Rogers about some Midgardian sporting event that he had an extra ticket for and followed the ex-soldier out.

“He's really trying hard to fit in isn't he?” Darcy shook her head at the thought of Thor going to a Knicks game or trying to understand football.

“How are you liking New York so far?” Jane took a seat at the desk, smile on her face. Darcy followed.

“It's okay so far. It's nothing like  _Sex and the City_. My life is full of coffee and redacted files. But you must be enjoying it. Now that Thor is back on earth.” Jane's smile took over her face.

“Yeah. It's great having him back.” A blush covered Jane's cheeks. “He has been trying to court me 'using the customs of the Midgardians', since it would be kind of weird if he were to try to give me a cornucopia filled with fowl bigger than a motorcycle and flowers that are intended to kill off other suitors.”

Darcy will be the first to admit that she wasn't sure how it was going to be, having Jane back. She hadn't even been that sure that the scientist missed her at all. During their time in New Mexico, both before and after Thor's arrival and the ensuing explosions, they had formed a bond that consisted of Darcy memorizing Jane's idiosyncrasies and habits while Jane forgot what day it was, when she needed to sleep, and at times, the fact that Darcy didn't actually know what Galactic Nucleus' were. When the internship ended and Darcy headed to DC, she had just managed to remember that Darcy was in fact allergic to shellfish and thus had zero interest in going to a lobster shack for lunch, much less one that resided in a state that didn't border any type of ocean. She wasn't sure that her attachment to Jane wasn't one sided. As a little girl who grew up without siblings and surrounded by people who were either too busy to notice her, or just plain didn't care, she knew that it was a possibility.

But as she sat listening to and catching up with Jane she felt her worries slip away. Jane was animated during their conversation, more so than she had ever been in New Mexico. She told Darcy about having Thor back, and how he was still trying to get used to the fact that he couldn't parade around like the great warrior that he was on Asgard if he wanted to go out in public with Jane and not be horded by fans and the press. Darcy told her about her new apartment and the neighbor down the hall that she caught trying to take the trash out while naked at one in the morning.

They were coming down from laughing when Jane asked about Captain Rogers. And from the shifting that she was doing in her chair and the lack of eye contact, Darcy figured she had been trying to think of how to bring him up for most of their conversation.

“So, Steve is the guy you mentioned in your e-mail, huh? He's the one who offered you the job?” Jane asked, her look inquisitive.

“Yeah...and no. I mean, he's the one in the email, but if it were up to him I wouldn't be here.”

Jane's face scrunched up in confusion, the way it would whenever she come to a problem she couldn't solve. “What do you mean?”

“He thought I was a secretary. He didn't think that I could handle the job. But, I mean, it's not like he knew what my position was and he had only ever met me once before... and he's apologized.”

“But you haven't forgiven him, have you?” Jane shifted in her seat.

“Wha-? What makes you say that?” Darcy's mouth gaped open.

“Thor and I have worked with him a couple of times on projects. It took ten minutes into our first meeting for him to ask me to call him Steve. When you introduced us earlier, you were still calling him Captain Rogers. I know you better than you may think, and calling him by his title is your little way of saying that you haven't forgiven him. Of taking control of the relationship.” A smug look overtook the scientist's face. “Plus, you like to hold grudges.”

Jane's expression quickly changed from smug to morose.

“I think you should forgive him, Darcy. His life - it hasn't been easy. He's lost a lot of people that he loved. Now this place, S.H.E.I.L.D. and the Avengers, it's practically all he has. He was protecting it. You two are a lot more alike than you think.”

Before Darcy could ask any questions or defend her choice to hold a grudge Thor walked back into the room, reminding Jane that though he would love to sit and reminisce with Darcy, they did have reservations that they needed to get to. The two women said their goodbyes, making plans to have lunch sometime in the next couple of days, and in the silence that filled her office in the absence of her friend, she released an emotional sigh of relief.

 

Darcy spent the following weekend relaxing, getting her apartment settled, and reading every book and article she could find on the interview process and how to hire people. It was last minute, she knew, but she had always been the type of person to put off her homework till the night before.

Despite this, she managed to get through the first few days of the week with minimal scarring to those she was interviewing. She made only one person cry, something Jane assured her wasn't something to boast about, and had hired staff to fill her office.

In the space of several weeks, the offices had become cluttered and filled to the brim with chatting, ringing telephones, and the sound of printers and copiers working their kinks out. It took some getting used to, but Darcy found that running this office wasn't too different from running a government office. It was all about controlling the flow of information.

“Uh, Miss Lewis?” Dexter, the meek looking assistant that she had hired the moment she found out he was majoring in PR at NYU, opened her door and poked his head in.

Darcy was in the middle of going through the last batch of redacted files that were carted to her when she had first started. She pulled the pencil from behind her ear and marked something on the page in front of her before looking up. “Yeah?”

“Ms. Potts' office called and scheduled an appointment.” He looked behind him as if checking for eavesdroppers. “They said that they needed it right away.” This caused Darcy to close the file she had been reading and straighten her glasses.

“When is she coming in?”

“Any min-”

The sound of the office's front door swinging open with exuberance cut off the assistant. An eruption of whispers could be heard throughout the waiting room and any hole her workers could poke their head through.

“I don't know Pepper, do you think we should have given her an office this big to start off with? Shouldn't we make her work for it or something? And look at all these kids. Is she running a daycare?”

Pepper Potts was soon filling Darcy's entryway, dragging behind her a swaying Tony Stark, still half dressed in the Iron Man suit.

“Consider this your crash course in Public Relations, Miss Lewis.” Ms. Potter pulled Tony into the office.

“What happened?” As Darcy moved from behind her desk, a decidedly alcoholic smell wafted in her direction, causing her nose to scrunch up in distaste. “Is he drunk?”

“Normally, this wouldn't be such a problem for Stark or the Avengers, but seeing as he was walking down 5th Avenue in his suit, telling ladies that gold and red were in this year and that he would be replacing Clinton Kelly on  _What Not to Wear_ next season, we are going to have a problem on our hands.” Tony Stark, who had up until this point in the conversation been staring intently at a poster of Casablanca that she had picked out one afternoon while Christmas shopping with Jane, turned to take her in. His eyes skeptically roamed over her form, spending far too much time where every other males eyes often stopped, a drunken gleam in his eye. He stumbled in her direction as the suit's gears whirred and protested at their use.

“You know, as a Genius, billionaire, playboy, fiddle...philamp...philanthropist, I have hired a lot of models in my time, but this is the first time I've hired a pin up girl.” The grin that covered his face was only there for seconds before Darcy's open palm connected with his cheek. The sound reverberated through the office and her assistant let out a tiny squeak before closing the door and getting back to work. Darcy was shocked at her actions, and would have brought her hands to cover her mouth in mortification if she hadn't felt like she needed to get a message across. The sooner she started showing him what was appropriate and what wasn't, the better. Tony Stark, on the other hand, looked shocked, frightened, and even a little in awe. He stared at her for several long seconds, backing away from her slowly and pointing his finger at her the way a child might point out something exciting that had caught their eye on the street. He gaped before turning to Ms. Potts.

“Pep, she slapped me.” Tony Stark, Man Child, tried to nuzzle her neck. Pepper rolled her eyes before shoving him a couple steps away from her, pressing a button hidden somewhere on the inside of the neckline on his suit, and holding him up as the armor folded in on itself before becoming, of all things, a red and gold briefcase. She helped him stumble over to the couch.

“I see you have no trouble taking big men down a notch. First the taser, now this? I fear what you might do should you meet Captain America.” Peppers tone was light, but Darcy was abashed by her action. Take down men who are creeping her out or are drunk on the street, she can do. But she had never done anything like this in the work place.

“I am so sorry Ms. Potts. Oh, god. I was really liking this job.” Darcy sat herself down in her chair, head in her hands.

“No need to worry Miss Lewis. Tony needs to be slapped around every once in a while. It's why he likes me so much.” Ms. Potts took the seat across from a still mortified Darcy. “Anyway, the first calls should be coming in within the next half hour. Can I keep him on your couch while I round up a couple guys to take him home?”

“Yeah. That's fine. Everything's fine.”

“Darcy?” She lifter her head out of her hands and looked up at the redhead. “Everything  _is_ fine. Get to work.”

As Ms. Potts left, Darcy started racking her brain for a way to spin this to the media.  _Control the information_ , she repeated the mantra in her head. But in order to control the information, she needed to know what was going on. She phoned her assistant to bring in any leftover black coffee they had in the break room.

She approached her drunk boss slowly, as one might approach an animal in the wild. “Mr. Stark?”

Tony Start slowly opened his eyes.

“Mr. Stark, can you tell me what happened today?” He blinked at her from his perch before looking her over again. She rubbed her palms against her legs before straightening her glasses. She might need to slap him again.

“If you wanted to, you could pair those pants with some metallic heels and turn that into an evening look.” Darcy glanced down at the skirt that she was wearing and shook her head. Her assistant came barreling through the door with a mug of coffee so black and strong Darcy was surprised that it hadn't eaten through the porcelain. As it was handed to the inebriated superhero, Darcy took a couple minutes to figure out her line of questioning. After letting him drink and sober up a little, she tried again.

“Mr. Stark, what were you doing before you got drunk this afternoon?” She sat down on the coffee table in front of him, giving him the glare that she always gave Senator Lake when he was being evasive.

“I was working on a concoction for getting Captain Tight Pants drunk. Damn man was frozen for seventy years and can't even drown his sorrows in a good single-malt...” He trailed off as his eyes scanned the walls of her office, taking in some of the personal things she had brought in to make the place a little homier. “Are you crocheting a dress?”

Darcy looked to where he was looking. She had brought in her crochet bag full of projects. On top was a snuggy she was making for Jane to use in her lab, which, because of the nature of her experiments, seemed to be loosing power and heating several times a week.

“Who is Captain Tight Pants, Mr. Stark?”

“The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!” He pumped his fist into the air, sloshing the last bit of coffee in his cup, and a smile covered his face.

“Captain America? You were trying to find something that would let him get drunk?” Well that was interesting. She had read in his (heavily) redacted file that there were some side effects to the serum, but it hadn't listed what they were. She would have to write that down somewhere to remember in case it came up in the future.

“And did you try any of this...brew?” The comment seemed to draw a giggle out of the billionaire. He held up his thumb and index finger and eyed them with intense concentration as he tried to get the distance right. He soon gave up and smiled at her.

“Just a drop,” he whispered. “I added it to some water to d-di...dilate it.”

“Dilute?”

“Yep.” He ended the word with a pop and started staring at her ceiling. Within a minute he was asleep.

“Dexter!” Darcy called out to her assistant as she walked back to her desk. He appeared instantaneously. “Have we had any calls about this yet?”

“So far, just the Post. But pictures are popping up online.” He glanced behind him with large eyes before Darcy's snapping fingers brought his attention back to her.

“Have a rough draft on my desk in the next fifteen minutes. Something like 'It was a failed personal experiment that caused drunken like side effects. The suit was not weapon ready and therefore of no harm to the public. He will not be taking over for Clinton Kelly and has had no offers to take over his spot in the new season.' Now go make it sound shiny.” Dexter continued to scribble as he walked out of her office.

No sooner than Dexter had disappeared Rebecca, one of the pool secretaries, came rushing in.

“Ms. Lewis, I have the Associated Press, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and,” she looked down at a piece of paper that she was holding in her hand, “ _Popweek_ , all asking for a statement on Mr. Stark's status and the reasoning for his walkabout.”

Darcy shouted towards the outer office. “Dexter, make that five minutes.”

“Two minutes, Boss.”

“Rebecca, let the networks know that we will have a statement for them in ten minutes and not a second sooner.” Rebecca nodded and backed out of the office.

Half an hour later, having sent out the official statement to the press, Darcy sank into her seat and looked at the antique watch her Great Aunt Becky had given her. Not even noon.  _Lunch. Lunch sounds good._

At that moment, Pepper, accompanied by two men in black suits, marched back into the office to retrieve the snoring billionaire.

“I trust that he didn't give you any trouble after I left?” Pepper picked up the brief case that had once been the Iron Man suit. Mr. Stark started to put up a fuss when one of the suited men tried to pry him off her couch.

“Who's this? You're not Steve.  _Steve!_ ”

Pepper sighed before handing the briefcase off to Darcy and making her way towards the drunken superhero.

“Tony, Steve doesn't work on your  _detail_ , remember? You offered the job to him several months ago, but he chose to stay working for the Army and Captain America.” She helped him to stand.

“Steve, working for Captain America. It's so funny because-”

“Because he has been here so long it feels like he doesn't really work for anyone, doesn't it Tony?”

Mr. Stark burst out laughing.

“Okay, Tony, it's time to get you home.” One of the men grabbed the suitcase from Darcy and stalked out of the office. Pepper had Mr. Stark's arm over her shoulder and was slowly walking him out of the room. As they passed by where she was standing, Mr. Stark looked her way.

“You could learn a lot from Steve. He's been here for a while.” Laughter followed him out. “Get it Pep? 'Cause he's been here for a while?”

Her office was strangely quiet after the commotion it had seen. She sank down into the closest seat and thought about what had transpired through the morning.  _This is my life now. A life where I have to explain to the world why Tony Stark is drunk in my office._  Was this what she had to look forward to? There hadn't been any attacks on New York since the summer, only a couple of incidents in other cities scattered across the US, and none since she had started her new job.

To be fair, what had happened that morning was one the lower end of what she expected to encounter, with the high end being a crazed villain who thought it was his day to try to rush along the zombie apocalypse. Then again, she hadn't really thought through what she might encounter. All she saw was a chance to do some good, to meet the Avengers, see Jane again, and show Steve Rogers that she was up for the job. Mr. Stark's words from earlier floated through her head. She quickly stood from her chair, grabbed her purse and coat, and walked out of her office, calling back to her confused assistant as she left.

“Dexter, I have some things to do. Hold all my calls.”

 

She really shouldn't be as nervous as she was, standing outside Captain Steve Rogers' office door, holding lunch from a homey deli down the street. She came bearing gifts of coffee and hot meaty sandwiches. What kind of man didn't like that?  _Suck it up Darcy. Man, you are such a wuss._

Finally listening to her inner voice, Darcy knocked on the door in front of her, opening it when she heard him call her in.

“Miss Lewis, can I help you?” Captain Rogers rose from his chair, a look of polite confusion on his face. Hell, if she were in his shoes she would be confused as well. She wasn't exactly social with him.

“I'm not interrupting anything right now, am I?” She waved the hand holding the bag of sandwiches over his desk, bringing attention to the piles of papers, maps, and books, that covered it.

“No, I'm just going over some strategy for the Captain. He likes to be covered on all fronts.” He just stared at her for a moment before seeming to shock himself out of whatever thought he was having. “Here, take a seat.”

He rounded his desk and pulled a stack of papers from the chair placed across from him, moving it to merge with another pile in some corner of the room. Darcy took a moment, as he was rearranging things, to take in his office. It was smaller than hers, since he had no need for a whole crew of people to manage. Blinds were covering the windows just enough to keep the early afternoon sun from blinding him, but open enough to illuminate the wall of pictures and trinkets behind his desk. While her office gave off the image of light and professional homeliness, his office was the epitome of man. Dark, heavy woods and bulky angles everywhere. An eclectic mix of old style New York businessman and frat boy. Antique tin signs advertising various products that were sure to make your life better, mixed with modern artwork that added enough color to the room to keep it from being depressing. She took in the pots of plants that were dispersed through the room, all looking like they needed to be given a little more TLC, the biographies of great war veterans intermixed with coffee table books on impressionist and modern art, and as he rounded his desk to retake his chair, she took in the man himself.

In her time working in Washington, and even a little bit New York, Darcy had come to separate the way men dressed into two categories. The men who dressed to kill, with the well tailored power suits that were sure to impress, no matter the body shape they were on. And the men who dressed like they were still sixteen, no tailoring or respect for what society thought were important principles of dressing. Captain Rogers seemed to fall somewhere between the two. His shirt and slacks both fit him like a glove, showing off his fit body. He looked like someone that could have walked off the cover of GQ, if it weren't for the pairing of dark gray pinstriped slacks with a blue and white plaid shirt and brown leather belt. He may not have dressed sharp enough to model, but on him, it looked magnificent.

As soon as he started to turn around and lower into his seat, Darcy tore her eyes away from him, trying to act like she wasn't just a little attracted to what she saw.  _Just because you are warming up to the guy doesn't mean that you have to start crushing on him at the same time._

“I brought lunch.” She offered up the bag of sandwiches as she placed the carton holding the coffee on a flat spot on his desk. “I didn't know if you had eaten anything today and I was hungry and I was getting lunch and though 'Hey, wonder if Rogers has had anything for lunch. I mean, if his morning has been anything like mine, then he hasn't. You should really take him some lunch.' So, here's lunch.” An awkward smile covered Darcy's face. The captain laughed lightly before grabbing one of the sandwiches and tucking in. Darcy removed her coat, sitting neatly in the chair he had cleaned off for her. They sat eating in silence for several minutes before he sat back in his seat.

“You called me Rogers.” He raised one of his eyebrows. It wasn't a statement so much as a question. Darcy took a slow sip of coffee before answering.

“I'm not quite ready to call you Steve yet, but I figured it's time to forgive you for calling me a Secretary. And Jane told me to be nice to you.” Her eyes caught his just as something akin to affection crossed his face before he started eating again.

“You had a bad morning?”

“Drunk Tony Stark walking down 5th Ave in the Iron Man suit handing out fashion advice. Apparently he was working on something to try to get your boy Captain America drunk and decided to try it out on himself.” Rogers burst out laughing. Darcy couldn't keep her eyes off of him as mirth spread over his face and muttering under his breath something akin to ' _it was only a matter of time'_. She could feel a smile of her own taking over her face. She wanted that smile to stay on his face, so she continued talking about their encounter.

“He compared me to a pin up girl, like, from the 40's. I might have slapped him.” Rogers choked on his mouthful of food. “Ms. Potts seesmy trend of taking down big men so she will have to watch me when I meet Captain America.”

Confusion, and maybe a touch of worry, washed over Rogers' face. “You took down Tony, who else?”

“Thor.”

“That was you? With the taser in New Mexico? You were right. You are no secretary.”

“Well, I may not be a secretary, but that doesn't mean that I'm not in just a little over my head here.” She looked at Rogers with pleading eyes. “Tony said that you have been around for a while,” he laughed lightly at the comment, “and I could use some advice on what to expect and when. I want to know how crazy things are going to get around here.  _'Mr. Tribbey? I'd like to do well on this, my first assignment. Any advice you could give me that might point me the way of success would be, by me, appreciated.'_ ”

Rogers gave her an odd look. “Uh, my name's not Mr. Trib-”

“It's a quote. I have been memorizing lines from  _The West Wing_  since I was fifteen. The point is that for the small amount of time that I have worked here, I like what I am doing. I want to make sure that I don't mess it up. Will you help me?”

He smiled at her, something she was finding he did a lot, not that she minded, and she held in her breath waiting for a response.

“Miss Lewis, I would be happy to help you.” She rolled her eyes.

“Please Rogers, call me Darcy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The line from The West Wing is part of a really funny clip involving Emily Proctor who played Ainsley Hayes, the only Republican in a Democrat White House and one of the best characters for the short while that she was there. It's kinda towards the middle, but the whole clip is worth watching.   
> Also, I promise that it won't take five months for me to update again. Gahh. You have my Beta ladycheeky to thank for this chapter. Let me know what you think about this chapter in the reviews!  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk5NwLr3OmQ

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize to the Phil Coulson Lovers out there. I couldn't bring him back to life.  
> I remember reading somewhere that Steve had an Alias and so people didn't know he was Captain America and I decided to go with it.  
> Also, I am in need of a beta. If you have any suggestions on where I might find one, or if you would like to volunteer, I would mentally send you a batch of Snickerdoodles. It's the best I can do without screwing up my computer by trying to mash them through the internet to you.


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